This yummy Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad is a perfect dish to enjoy all year round.
Quinoa is one of my favourite grain choices because I love the nutty flavour it has and it pairs perfectly with a variety of different ingredients whether those be sweet or savoury.
There are a few different varieties of quinoa out there, from the usual white quinoa most of us are used to, to the red, black, purple varieties. According to the Huffington Post, there are actually 120 known varieties or quinoa and they do all have slightly different flavours too.
I recently picked up some golden quinoa from Costco Canada because I thought it looked rather interested compared to the usual quinoa I buy and it definitely has a slightly more earthy/nutty flavour to the regular white quinoa, as well as a lovely golden colour.
Despite quinoa being called a grain by most it is actually a seed and comes packed with protein and amino acids, so it's definitely a great gluten-free alternative to things like couscous and pasta. There are even some gluten-free pasta's you can purchase now that are made from quinoa and they certainly taste yummy too.
You can also add flavour too by cooking the quinoa in broth or stock or adding seasoning after cooking it in water. Which means it's such a versatile ingredient.
So with some chicken and butternut squash to use up, combining with some quinoa and other ingredients for this Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad seemed like the perfect idea. Easy for warming up the next day too for lunches. Gotta love leftovers for quick next day meals, right?
Wondering what else you can make with quinoa, now you have that bag in your pantry? Check out some of these other quinoa recipes:
- Syn Free Healthy Chicken Quinoa Bowl
- Low Syn Sausage Sage Onion Quinoa Stuffing
- Chicken Quinoa Meatballs in a Veggie Sauce
- Greek Style Quinoa Pots
- Coconut Quinoa Pudding Breakfast Bowl
- Chicken, Zucchini, Parmesan and Quinoa Bake
- Zucchini and Parmesan Quinoa Bites
- Syn Free Beef Quinoa Bites
- Crab and Quinoa Cakes
or head on over to my FULL RECIPE INDEX with over 850 delicious Slimming World Recipes, all fully searchable by meal type, ingredients, syn value etc
How can I add a ⅓ speed foods to this Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad?
There are roasted butternut squash, zucchini and red onion in the salad, but you can always pair it with some salad greens too for some additional speed foods. Extra speed roasted vegetables of your choosing are another great option too.
What Kitchen Items do I need to make this Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad?
- Kitchen Scales
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Wooden Spoon
- Santoku Knife (perfect knife for chopping veg)
- Chopping Board
- Baking Tray
- Saucepan
- Frying pan
- Large bowl
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Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad
This yummy Roasted Butternut Squash Chicken Quinoa Salad is a perfect dish to enjoy all year round
Ingredients
- ½ cup (85g) of uncooked quinoa, rinsed
- 200g (7oz) of boneless skinless chicken breast or thigh, chopped into small pieces
- pinch of red pepper flakes
- ¼ tsp of garlic powder
- 400g (14oz) of butternut squash, peeled and chopped
- ½ tsp of paprika
- 1 small red onion, diced
- 1 zucchini, diced
- ½ cup (90g) of corn
- seeds of a small pomegranate,
- cooking oil spray
- chopped parsley or cilantro
- salt and black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200c/400f
- Add the butternut squash to a bowl, add the paprika, some salt and black pepper and toss to coat.
- Add to a baking tray with the red onion and roast for about 35-40 mins until the butternut squash is golden and softened.
- Add the zucchini for the last 20 mins.
- Add the quinoa to a saucepan and cover with 1 cup (240ml) of water, bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low, add lid and simmer until all liquid is absorbed (approx 15 mins), turn off heat and leave the pan with the lid on while you finish off the rest of the ingredients.
- Spray a frying pan with some cooking oil spray, add the chicken, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, salt and black pepper and fry until lightly golden and cooked through.
- Once the butternut squash is ready.
- Add the chicken, quinoa, roasted squash (with onion and zucchini), corn, pomegranate and chopped parsley to a bowl and toss together.
- Season as needed with salt and black pepper.
Notes
This recipe is gluten free, dairy free, Slimming World and Weight Watchers friendly
- Extra Easy - Syn Free per serving
- WW Smart Points - 2 per serving (use chicken breast)
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 241Total Fat 2.2gSaturated Fat 0.1gCarbohydrates 38.7gFiber 10.2gSugar 9.9gProtein 16.6g
Anne says
Do you think I could swap the squash for sweet potato please ?